Alter Egos, Blades and Porings!
by Thunderwrath
Summary: Follow the adventures of Natsuki, Shizuru and the gang as they live out their Ragnarok Online alter-egos and take on quests around the cities in Rune Midgard! (Oh look, it's NOT a one-shot!)
1. C1: Creating Kruger Creating Viola

**Alter Egos, Blades and Porings?!**

_**by Thunderwrath**_

_**Disclaimer: It's sad that I don't own Mai-Hime or Ragnarok!**_

**Summary**: _Follow the adventures of Natsuki and Shizuru as they live out their Ragnarok Online alter-egos and take on quests around the cities in Rune Midgard!_

_**A/N**: Hey there. Let's say this is the same universe as the one my other story, Tracked. All I can really say right now is that this won't be a one-shot. Enjoy!_

**_Chapter 1_: Creating Kruger; Creating Viola.**

"Ice Princess? No. That name sucks."

A pale girl with hair as dark as midnight blue was busy hunched over a computer in a dimly-lit room. A rapid tapping of keys on the board confirmed that the young girl had once again attempted to name the character displayed on her desktop's screen.

"Kuga- Argh! I don't want my avatar's name to have anything to do with my real name! " Natsuki Kuga had this notion that using your real name for an avatar in an online game completely destroyed the essence of conjuring an alter ego. This was the reason her brows were currently furrowed in frustration. Who knew that naming a character would be so hard? Some people would give theirs shitty names like "Congo Machine" and "SuperKnight1789". However, Natsuki believed that her alter ego's name should embody who she is in real life.

"Dogs. Hmm.. I do like canines. Wolves! What if I went for a name that gave off an impression of a wolf? Yeah.. Something to make me sound like I'm the Big Bad Wolf of Midgard!"

She grinned at the idea. Truth be told, Natsuki was a lone wolf in real life. She preferred to isolate herself from regular people. If ever people did reach out to her, she would dismiss them by giving them a very practiced and very chilling "Kuga Death" glare coupled with a cold shoulder. The same anti-social technique worked on the general public save for a few who were considered by Natsuki as friends. She didn't know why Mai Tokiha, a bubbly orange-haired classmate of hers, wanted to hang out with someone like her.

"Maybe Mai's motherly instincts are always acting up when she's around me. She does like to prepare meals for me and Mikoto.", thought Natsuki.

Ah yes! Mikoto Minagi was Mai's little pet kitten. It was always a chore to pry off Mikoto from their busty friend during the mornings since the little cat-like girl would cling on to Mai while she slept. Too bad Mikoto sleeps like a log: an ironically light log with a really strong grip.

"Natsuki!" Mai's voice through her headphones broke Natsuki from her musing. "We've been waiting for you to name your character for 30 minutes already! Just pick a name so we can start playing!"

"Psh. Stupid mutt is too dumb to type her name on the keyboard. Maybe she should just go for a name that best describes her: Ice Princess." Her emerald eyes rolled upon hearing the comment.

"Shut up Nao. You guys can start playing without me! I wanna do this at my own pace. I'll meet you somewhere in town or something."

"Okay then. Send us a PM when you're done with the Training Grounds. Remember our names ok? Nao's in-game name is Juliet and mine is Kagutsuchi." Mai sighed. She was always the one who broke off the arguments between Natsuki and Nao, the latter whose objective in life was to annoy the shit out of the former. Nao Yuuki is another friend of Natsuki. She goes to the same school as Natsuki, Mai and Mikoto but she's younger so she's in a lower grade.

"Yeah, yeah.." came the nonchalant reply of our heroine.

Another 15 minutes passed and Natsuki still didn't have anything; however, the next tick of the longer hand would make all the difference. It struck her, the perfect name for her character!

"Kruger!" It sounded just right. The name gave off a commanding aura and it should fit the job that her hero would choose: a Knight. With a few taps of the mouse, she fixed her characters look. Midnight blue hair that flowed up to the girl's toned back similar to hers. A few more clicks to allot points to her primary stats: strength, vitality and dexterity; one last click to confirm her character's creation.

"Midgard meet Kruger."

-break-

Shizuru Fujino was currently faced with a dilemma. The student council was tasked by the school board to play video games such that they may find the root of the increasing cases of student violations; however, her current predicament was partially preventing her from doing so. She believed that her first online character's name should be well-thought and should reflect her whole being. She was not one to place any sort of detail that would give away her true identity. No, the heir to the Fujino Corporation was not supposed to be playing video games. She should be preparing herself for her future by engaging her full attention to her studies. She should- she broke off her own thoughts with a giggle.

"Ara, it seems like I should take Reito-san's advice and try to live like a normal teenager." Not that the word "normal" is a befitting description for Shizuru. Her beauty was unmatched. Long wavy locks of silken honey adorned her head and her body was quite curvy for a girl of her age. Puberty worked her body in all the right ways rendering her beauty comparable to that of Venus herself. The most striking feature of her face however, was her crimson eyes. They were intimidating and captivating at the same time, as told by her fan girls of course.

"Now what do I name you?" A chibi version of herself was rotating in the screen.

"How about..Viola, Shizuru-san?" a deep voice belonging to Reito Kanzaki, the only male in the group of friends responded to Shizuru's query. In the video game, the young man named himself "Obsidian Lord" since he believed that his hair was his most valuable asset due to its jet black sheen. He prided himself to be quite an attractive young man and he was quite relieved that the crowd that he involved himself was not smitten with him like other girls. He had always wanted to be a "bad boy" so he wanted to become a Shadow Chaser in-game.

"Bubuzuke! What's taking so wrong?!" A loud voice disrupted the author's attempt to describe Reito.

"Long, Haruka, I mean, Armitage.." A small voice squeaked. It belonged to a mousy young brunette who was correcting the loud, bossy blonde who was currently tapping random keys on the keyboard in frustration. Shizuru was hearing their little exchange over the headphones but she could clearly see in her mind how her friends interacted with each other. Haruka Suzushiro or Armitage in the Ragnarok world was the more passionate one between the two. She was big, blonde and beau-well.. loud. The blond girl believed herself to be Shizuru's rival and stopped at nothing with the goal of exceeding the young Fujino at almost anything; be it the elections that declared Shizuru as the president of the student council or a simple race to the top of the stairs. Of course, Haruka hasn't score yet because Shizuru manages to beat her at any challenge she proposes. That doesn't stop the proud lioness in her. The only person who could dowse the blonde's fire was Yukino Kikukawa. In contrast to Haruka's larger and more confident form, Yukino was petite and reserved. Aside from keeping the lioness calm, the brunette would often find herself correcting Haruka in word usage. In return, Haruka would protect Yukino from any harm be it physical or emotional; hence the reason why Haruka would become her Paladin and Yukino, a Sorceress. The two were quite a pair; needless to say, they needed each other.

"I did say that didn't I? Bubuzuke, we're going to play with or with-trout you. I'm gonna prank down the students who play this violent game! Right, Yukino?"

"Haruka is quite eager to cause bloodshed among the adorable monsters around the training grounds. Ne, Yukino-san?" the quite chuckle of Reito could be heard.

"It's without and track, Haruka-chan. Okay, Shizuru-san, the three of us will meet you in the training grounds. You won't get lost since you'll find Haruka killing off more porings than she can handle."

"Eh? Yukino, those little drops of jelly are not a threat! I'll prove you gong! Come on! Reito! I'll lead!"

And with that, her friends warped off to another part of the game. She considered Reito's proposal in character naming and typed "Viola".

She already planned in mind what her character would be doing in the Ragnarok realm. She would become an Assassin, a Guillotine Cross to be exact.

"Let's kill off every Fuuka student's avatar and force them to queer!" The student council's plan resounded in her head. In fact, it sounded just like how Haruka had said it a few hours ago, accompanied by Yukino telling the former that "quit" was the right word. There was an increase in the number of students who violated the academy's rules and the board wanted the student council to take care of it. Apparently, the rise in the number of cases was associated to a video game that most of the students in the academy played. It was called Ragnarok Online. How it was associated to student violence, the board did not say. However, rumor has it that Mr. Suzushiro, the head of the academy's board, (aka Haruka's Dad) wanted to distract her daughter and let her try living like a teenager for once. Let's say 3 out of 4 of the student council executives knew this and there was no way they'd let the loud-mouth blonde spoil their fun.

Shizuru put in points in her character's Strength, Dexterity and Agility. She liked the idea of her being able to dodge blows and return them at twice the speed her attacker inflicted them upon her.

"Enough dilly-dallying. Let's play!" She confirmed her avatar's creation.

Crimson eyes blinked and looked around. She found herself in a Novice's costume and alongside with her was another novice like herself. The other girl had her back turned and was fumbling over something. Her black hair coupled with a strange shade of blue cascaded along her back.

"Excuse me, miss?" Shizuru tapped the other girl's shoulder and when the girl turned around, Shizuru's breathe hitched. The girl was beautiful, by god! Her lips were pouting and she was blushing. What caused Shizuru's heart to thump even louder was the startling emerald eyes of the girl before her.

"It looks like this experience is going to be much more enriching than I assumed."

_**A/N:** So here's my attempt at writing a multi-chaptered story. Let's hope I can bring the same amount of humor without messing up the plot too much. I do hope my chapters won't look so rushed. Thank you for taking the time to read! Leave a review if you liked it. ;D_


	2. C2: Leveling Up!

**Alter Egos, Blades and Porings?!**

_**by Thunderwrath**_

_**Disclaimer: It's sad that I don't own Mai-Hime or Ragnarok!**_

**Summary**: _Follow the adventures of Natsuki and Shizuru as they live out their Ragnarok Online alter-egos and take on quests around the cities in Rune Midgard!_

_**A/N:** Let's get some Shiznat on. Let me clarifiy first that Shizuru does not know that Natsuki is Kruger and vice-versa so don't be confused with how I put in their names._

**_Chapter 2_: Leveling up!**

"Excuse me, miss?" Shizuru tapped the other girl's shoulder and when the girl turned around, Shizuru's breathe hitched. The girl was beautiful, by god! Her lips were pouting and she was blushing. What caused Shizuru's heart to thump even louder was the startling shade of green that the eyes had of the girl before her. "I think I'm starting to like emerald.."

A few moments ago, Natsuki was looking around and wondering where she kept the leather bag that held her Zennies. Zeny was the currency that the people in Rune Midgard used so it would be very inconvenient for one to wander around without a few hundreds of it. The longer she fumbled and poked into her knapsack, the more it felt like the small pouch had purposely hidden itself to annoy her. She really needed the money to buy a few potions. Odin, help her! If only she had listened to Mai who periodically reminded her to arrange the items in her inventory. She was more than just simply annoyed now and she felt like she would snap at the next person who approached her to ask if she was single. She really didn't need the extra attention that's why the tap to her shoulder made her feel like a gun that's trigger was pulled. Valhalla help the person to withstand the bullet that was her glare. Lo and behold, she was glaring not at another mediocre bard but a novice such as herself. She shrugged the feeling of the girl's touch off her shoulders as if it were pixie dust (yes, she hates pixies) and asked with a voice as deep as the ocean blue and as smooth as vodka, "What do you want?" If Natsuki were to grade the girl's looks, she'd definitely be above average. The long chestnut mane that framed her face looked soft to touch, the gentle gaze those scarlet orbs held and the quivering pout that those pink lips were making it hard for Natsuki to properly hold her glare. She lost it when saw a tear roll down the honey-haired girl's cheek.

"Stranger-han must think that my help will not be worth her time?"

Natsuki panicked as she watched Shizuru sob into her own hands. She really didn't mean to make her cry. Heck, all she wanted was some peace so she could think straight and find her moolah.

"Do you not want my help? All I wanted to do was do something good for stranger-han.."

"Er, miss.. I'm s-sorry!.." she was stuttering. It felt too damn awkward to apologize to a stranger who picked crying over scampering away from her. Shizuru was grinning on the inside. It looked like befriending this girl would be easier than she thought. Natsuki, on the other hand, was panicking. This has never happened before. She hated having contact with people she didn't know but this looked like an emergency. She reached out to Shizuru and began patting her head. The softness of the other girl's chestnut hair was soothing and it strangely reminded her of a kitty. "This doesn't feel as awkward as I thought it would feel.."

A sniffle and a lithe laugh snapped Natsuki out of her thoughts. She was feeling very uneasy with the way Shizuru looked at her. It felt different from all the other appreciative gazes that people sent her way. It was unnerving and that was not something she was used to. "What?"

"Thank you, stranger-han. I feel all better." And she had to smile. That smile was blinding and it was exposing like any bright light. Natsuki couldn't help but feel heat rise to her face. Shizuru internally squealed at the sight. "How could a girl be so adorable and cold at the same time?"

"Well, now that you're all better now.. I suppose I can leave?" Natsuki spun around.

She was about to take another step but a hand grabbed her wrist, preventing her from moving.

"Wait! I.. I don't know where to go.. I'm fairly new here.. my friends went ahead and.. I've never played a game like this before." Shizuru's eyes were cast-down and Natsuki could tell that this girl was telling her the truth.

"Oh well.. might as well, level-up while I'm with her.. I wonder where Mai and the others are.." The dark-haired novice took the other's hand and pulled at it. "Come on. I'll teach you how to play. I won't leave until you find your party mates, okay?" She pulled off a lopsided grin and tightened her grip on Shizuru's hand to reassure the latter. Her heart fluttered at this simple gesture. "Ara.."

"Okay. Since we'll be stuck with each other for awhile, I should ask you what your name is since I really don't like calling you just "miss".

"My name is Viola. I was hoping to become an Assassin."

"Are you sure? You look more like a Priestess to me or something.. The name's Kruger. Just Kruger. I hate having any honorifics attached to my name. I want to become a knight. I think living for honor is a pretty cool way of life."

"It does suit you, Kruger."

"Hey, let's get started. We're wasting time here just dawdling around. Come on and follow me."

They walked through the forest and settled upon a field bustling with players who were fighting off monsters. The monsters here looked relatively weak, judging by their size and it was a perfect place for new players to adapt to the game. Natsuki and Shizuru decided to stray away from all the others since the emerald-eyed novice's temper halved when she was around a large group of people. The party of two settled for a small area at the edge of the field teeming with little monsters. Shizuru spotted a pink jelly-like monster who was bouncing towards an apple. Kruger called it a Poring, Viola recalled. Apparently, like animals in real life, the monsters in Ragnarok had names. The chestnut-haired girl was a sucker for adorable things so she tried to pet the monster. As soon as her fingers poked into the mass of jelly that was its body, the monster threw its own body into Shizuru. The resulting force was enough to knock the girl down to her knees.

"Ouch.." She rubbed her knee as if to relieve the throbbing in her knee, she didn't expect the monster to attack again but she still managed to move out of harm's way just in time; she even gave it a very painful kick. The Poring crashed onto the bed of grass. The pink jelly blob was about to attack Shizuru again but Natsuki drove her knife into its soft body. Before they knew it, the Poring exploded into a thousand jelly bits that splattered anywhere and everywhere.

"Viola! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" A slime-covered Natsuki was hunched over a Shizuru who was equally covered in the same amount of grunge and muck.

"I am perfectly fine, Kruger. In fact, I've never felt better. I feel..stronger for some reason.."

"Oh! That?" Natsuki smiled at her again. Shizuru was touched at her concern for her welfare. "You leveled up! Since we killed that monster, we earned experience! You're getting closer to becoming an Assassin, Viola!"

"Could it be just that Kruger being so near and caring is the source of my strength?"

Natsuki's nostrils flared at Shizuru's teasing. She backed away upon realizing that they were close. The sudden loss of Natsuki's support enabled gravity to successfully pull Shizuru's body to the ground. The impact made Natsuki wince after realizing what she had done. That had got to hurt but instead of showing compassion, she snorted.

"Ha! You deserve it coz you're a big tease!" the emerald-eyed novice finished off her gloating with a roar of laughter accompanied with a bit of rolling in the grass.

"Ikezu.. Kruger is enjoying my misery.. but I will get back at her, ne?" Shizuru gave Natsuki a smile that the latter can only describe as "malicious". Natsuki gulped at her display and clammed up. She held Shizuru's arm and hoisted the girl up to her feet.

"Ehem. So anyway! If you keep killing more monsters, you'll eventually gain more experience. The experience gain enables you to level up. You have two kinds of levels to pump up, though. There's the base level. This enables you to increase your base stats. You'll be able to increase your Strength, Agility and the like. Since you're aiming for assassin, I'd suggest you to pump up your Strength, Agility and a bit of Dexterity and Luck. Now for the Job level, that's-"

"Is it correct to assume that I'll need to gain certain skills, Kruger?" Shizuru dusted off the flap of her novice pants and took out a red potion. The fight a while ago had reduced her health bar's color from the emerald green of Kruger's eyes down to her tomato impression. She pressed her lips to the vial and took a swig. She then offered some to Kruger who turned it down with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah! You're right. Since we're still novices, we'll need to learn the basic skills like trading and party formation. Every time you level up as far as Job Level is concerned, you'll get a skill point. That skill point can be used to learn a skill. Once we reach Job Level 10, we can change to our first class jobs. The jobs, Assassin and Knight are 2nd class jobs. So we still have a long way to go!"

"Kruger, when you become a knight, will the position of being your "damsel in distress" be open? I'd like to submit my application as early as now. "

The blush that Natsuki sported on her face came out instantaneously. Shizuru had gained another point over Natsuki and she decided to celebrate her victory by filling the air with her rich laughter. Natsuki's jaw dropped at the carefree display that Viola showed her. It was beautiful and playful.. it was sexy. Natsuki cussed as another blush threatened to creep out of her skin but she managed to keep it down. The dark-haired girl decided to rain on the crimson-eyed girl by throwing an apple at her. The former's aim was accurate and the apple hit the latter on the head. "Bull's Eye!" Natsuki stopped laughing after hearing a soft "Ikezu!".

The two girls continued to kill off monsters as they moved from area to area. Shizuru was a fast-learner and soon enough, she was keeping up with Natsuki in facing the monsters. They were able to face a wide variety of dark creatures along the area. Some were intimidating; some were just downright weird and most looked harmless. There were dead, walking trees called Willows and caterpillar-like creatures Fabre. The dead carcasses of the monsters held precious items as well and both Kruger and Viola had agreed to share the zennies they would get once they sold an Emerald they had picked up when they headed back to town. The novices were rewarded with experience for their endeavors leading them to be at Base level 10 and Job Level 9 as they rested under the shade of a tree. Natsuki's back was rested against the bark and Shizuru was sitting beside her, her fingers playing with the midnight blue strands of Kruger's hair. A comfortable silence rested between the two as they recuperated their energy. Just as Shizuru was about to doze off, she picked up a loud booming voice. "Haruka?" The scarlet-eyed girl felt Natsuki's head raise as she said, "Nao? Mai? "

They looked at each other and nodded. The party followed the sound of people arguing nearby however, they couldn't pick up what they were fighting about. Natsuki crawled behind one of the bushes and motioned to Viola to come over. They could hear the voices more clearly now and it sounded like there were two parties arguing over who gets to kill a boss monster.

"We saw it first! It's ours! Besides, that blonde bimbo there won't even last a second in the battle!"

"Excuse me? I am a lot more durable than little swirls such as you! I could beat you to a bloody pulp right now!" The malapropism was a dead give-away. Shizuru smiled upon her discovery but she didn't feel like telling Kruger that she knew some of the people outside because the other girl's focused expression was too cute.

"Haruka-chan.. it's girls and I do believe that we can settle this dispute with a less violence, right Reito-kun?" The smaller brunette squished herself between the Juliet and Armitage as if too act as a wall to keep the two from exchanging fists. Obsidian Lord decided to help his friend out and pulled Armitage away.

"Nao, let it go. They can have it. We'll find another one." An orange-haired Kagutsuchi was trying to calm down the flaring Juliet. Natsuki's eyes lit up upon hearing Nao's name. It looked like the two had gotten themselves into quite a situation. She was about to tell Viola that she knew these people however the other girl seemed to be in lalaland judging by her smile that was a bit wider than usual.

The sound if a branch breaking alerted the group. The Mastering, an oversized Poring, was staring at them with unimaginable rage and bloodlust. It gave out a mighty, "BOING!" and more than fifty porings came out from behind it. Armitage's and Juliet's jaw dropped as they watched a whole army of Porings rush towards them. The porings latched onto Reito, effectively smothering him under their gooey goodness, disabling him from protecting the flailing Mai who had Porings nibbling on her hair and shoulders. Nao wasn't fairing any better since her arms and legs were pinned by the cute droplets of demonic goo. The poring on her left hand managed to gobble up her knife, rendering her disarmed.

Yukino was warding off the porings who had ganged up around her with her dagger. "I have a knife and.. I'm not afraid to use it! Keep your distance! Or else!" Her legs were shaking. She was scared. She didn't want to die in the hands or goo of such adorable creatures. Haruka was a few feet away from her. She was busy trying to clear a path to get closer to Yukino. No matter how hard she tried to kill the little buggers, more of them would come right back to her. It's as if there was a never-ending supply of Porings. The blonde girl noticed the enormous Mastering bounce towards Yukino. Haruka gulped and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Yukino! RUN!" Haruka was using all of her strength to clobber the Mastering on the head with her mace. She needed to distract the thing. Yukino was frozen on the spot so she jumped and rode the Mastering.

"PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!" Haruka was now beating the Boss monster with her own fists but her punches felt like a child's thump to the gigantic creature.

Shizuru watched as her friends were overpowered by the adorable army. She needed to act so she did the one thing that she knew would get the Poring's attention. She waived the emerald they had gotten a while ago. Natsuki's face paled. Oh shit! Shizuru had noticed that the Poring race were looters and couldn't resist items. The Mastering shifted its gaze to Shizuru and Natuski and began to bounce like crazy towards them. The others were freed since the Mastering commanded its underlings to go after Shizuru, who was holding the gem. The crimson-eyed girl ran for her life as the enormous monster and the hundreds of Porings chased her. Natsuki couldn't just sit back and watch. She felt a sense of over-protectiveness blossom in her chest and with a battle-cry she charged into the mass of jelly monsters, slicing and dicing and hacking with all her might. She wasn't gonna let these ridiculous monsters get to Shizuru! When killing them didn't seem to work anymore, Natsuki enveloped Shizuru into a hug and used her body as a shield to protect the crimson-eyed girl. Shizuru was panicking. She didn't want Natsuki to be hurt because of her! They needed help!

"Natsuki! Hold on!" Shizuru noticed the busty carrot-top that was whacking porings left and right with her rod. Thank God! Help was coming! Natsuki's hold on her was loosening. The emerald gaze that was locked with hers was lost as the dark-haired girl lost consciousness. She diverted her attention to the red-head who was beside the other girl. The lime-eyed girl was working with Reito who was also doing his best to clear her and Natsuki of the mob that had gathered around them. Once there were fewer Porings around them, Shizuru cradled Kruger on her lap. The girl was badly beaten up from taking all those blows for her. She chose to act quickly by taking a yellow colored potion from her bag and letting the yellow liquid flow into Natsuki's mouth as the vial touched her lips. Natsuki drank it and her color returned. She immediately blushed when she realized where she was. Natsuki tried to get up to fight but Viola stopped her as if saying "Oh no, little lady." The dark-haired girl shook Viola off and threw her dagger towards the Mastering who was currently busy fighting Haruka and Yukino. The monster bounced towards Natsuki again but Haruka immediately whacked in on the head with her mace. The diversion worked and the Mastering exploded into a thousand pieces. Everyone got slimed in the face however some of them took it more gracefully than the others.

"We did it!" Mai's voice rang out and before they knew it, all of them were cheering. An aura enveloped each individual and before they knew it, they had all leveled up. All of them were now ready to take on 1st class jobs!

The group decided to head to a nearby town called Izlude where they stayed at an Inn. After all of them had cleansed themselves of sticky Poring goo, they opted to celebrate their victory over dinner. This was where both parties where formally introduced to each other. Natsuki was seated beside Shizuru and she noticed that her other best friend Mai, had taken quite a liking to Viola's friend, Obsidian Lord. She didn't like prying into other people's business so she shook the thought out of her head.

At the end of dinner, the two groups decided to separate since all of them were ready to take their respective job exams to become 1st class players. However this was only the beginning. Shizuru was quite sure that she would meet Kruger one more time.

-TBC.

_**A/N:** This chapter seemed rushed to me. Hmm.. School sucks. It hinders the writing process though school was the institution that taught me how to write properly. Thank you schooling! :D Maybe I should try to make omakes as well? Those seem kind of fun. Thank you for reading! Leave a review if you liked it._


	3. C3: Improbable Encounter!

**Alter Egos, Blades and Porings?!**

_**By Thunderwrath**_

_**Summary:**__ Follow the adventures of Natsuki and Shizuru as they live out their Ragnarok Online alter-egos and take on quests around the cities in Rune Midgard! _

_**A/N: Howdy! Sorry for the wait! I've been pretty busy. I hope I can dish out another chapter next week! I hope you enjoy this update!**_

_**Chapter 3: **__**Improbable Encounter!**_

It was a clear afternoon; the sun's rays provided a warm glow on the rooftop of Fuuka Academy. Mai, Nao and Natsuki were currently having lunch on a mat that the carrot-top had laid for their convenience. The other two were animatedly talking about their very first boss fight while Natsuki was deep in thought, oblivious to the oncoming argument; the said boss happened to be that Mastering in the Training grounds the other day.

"If only Mai didn't keep blocking my view with her boobs! Those things can make you blind, you know! I could've handled that thing on my own!" snarled Nao. Mai responded by pinching the red-head's cheek.

"Shut it, Nao. My chest is an asset unlike yours which does an excellent impression of an oak wood desk. Besides, even if you are as awesome as you say, we should just be thankful that there were other people around to save us."

"But, THE LOOT-"

"Now, now… We made some pretty good acquaintances. Isn't that what's important? In fact, I think Natsuki might actually be opening up to others and not just us. Right, Natsuki? Natsuki?" Mai let out a sigh. She really did have to be the more mature one of the group or this case, the more attentive one.

"Yo Kuga!"

A shoving of Nao's face away from the bluenette's ear signaled their friend's awareness.

"What was that for Nao?! Normal people's ears don't regenerate so I like to keep mine at the side of my face! Fully functional as much as it can goddamn be possible!"

"We were just wonderin' what's on your mind? I mean we all know idiots can't keep their attention on anything for more than 3 seconds. Any interesting brunettes you wanna shag?" Natsuki would have loved to swipe that snicker off of Nao's face with her fist but decided against it.

"Yeah right... I can keep it in my pants. Anyway, I was hoping I could play as soon as I got home. I need to grind my swordie _(A/N: it's a Ragnarok slang 'Swordsmen')_ tonight so I can job change into a knight by the weekend." Sure, the brunette she met did happen to ghost into her thought a couple of times today but Natsuki insisted that maybe it's because that boss fight was so exciting and that the dusty haired novice she was with was just part of it. She wouldn't ever admit it to her friends but the said girl did leave quite an impression on her.

"Natsuki! Don't tell us you're thinking about tracking down that novice's player and pursuing a relationship with them? I mean, what if it was a fat, lecherous unemployed dude who likes dressing up in tutus and playing videogames with women avatars?!"

"Shut up Nao! Don't tell me you've met actually met a guy who's actually into that shit!"

"Stop it both of you! ARGH! Why do I always have to deal with your immature squabbling?"

"Ehem!"

A blonde girl, who looked more American than Japanese, coughed to get the trio's attention. She couldn't stand students who raised their voices beyond the recommended decibels and she was infuriated that these students were still loitering when they should be at the halls, proceeding to their respective class. "Haruka, we'll be late. Just let them be.." the brunette beside her tugged her jacket's sleeve. "No. It's our job to uphold the rules of this school. We should stop them! Kami knows that blasted _bubuzuke _won't!" Yukino watched as the blonde stomped towards the three. Persuading the blonde to think otherwise was futile. She knew that her best friend's sense of justice was a force to be reckoned with.

"Fuck you Spider! For an archer in-game, your aim sucks!" Natsuki was roaring with laughter and Nao threw an empty water bottle which was nimbly dodged by the bluenette. "Try harder! You'll hit me soon enough."

"I'll wipe that cocky grin of your with this!" The red-head picked up one of Natsuki's mayo sandwiches and ricocheted it towards the latter's face. Natsuki's eyes widened as she watched her beloved sandwich soar into the air and land right onto Haruka's head. Haruka's eyebrows twitched as she halted her stride while Yukino ran up to her, mouth agape, with a napkin.

"Natsuki! How dare you throw a sandwich at the chief executive's head?!" Mai rolled her eyes at Nao as the latter feigned innocence and tried to shift the blame on the emerald-eyed girl. Haruka's gaze shifted towards Natsuki, she breathed in deep and-

_**-break-**_

"**DELINQUENT**!" A loud roar caused the birds around Fuuka to scamper away from their perch. A groggy Shizuru lifted her head off her desk to rub the sleep out of her crimson eyes. "_Ara, _Haruka has caught another one. Ah, I should get to class.. or not."

_**-break-**_

Just as Mai was about to approach Haruka to sort out the misunderstanding, Nao pulled her by her collar and dragged her to their next class. She's never seen Nao so excited to get to class. Before they sacrificed, er, left Natsuki to deal with the Suzushiro heir's wrath; Mai saw their friend cornered by the blonde and her mousy assistant beside the fire exit. She smirked and rushed after Nao; knowing the azure-haired girl was going to be okay and if not, oh well..

"AHA! Your friends have cleft you, delinquent and you're trapped like a mouse. The lion always gets her prey." The lioness pumped up her chest and stood proudly. Yukino's eyes widened and she couldn't suppress the emotion welling up her throat at her beloved's display.

"Wow! That was really good Haruka!"

"You really think so, Yukino?" The blonde fought off a blush and coughed to regain her composure. "Write that down under one of my 'catch phrase as Haruka upholds Justice' lines. Now, let's get back to...business..FU-DGE NUGGETS! She- she!-" Haruka blinked twice to make sure she wasn't wrong. Her captive had escaped! She didn't think the girl would jump and use the fire exit as a get-away.

"Yes love. She got away." Haruka was livid. She was angry! She wanted to just jump down the exit and chase after the bluenette but what her partner called her triggered a realization within her.

"I KNOW THAT YUKINO! Wait, what did you just call me?"

"See you later, suckers!" Natsuki now knew what seeing death felt like. After having escaped 5 weeks of cleaning duty sponsored by the Student Council, she never felt so alive! If she was left to stay in school to endure her punishment, then her gaming time would be cut! Oh no! She didn't want that! That's why to celebrate her rebirth, she was going to skip her classes for the day and play video games! Meanwhile, Haruka and Yukino were left at the roof top watching Natsuki sprint towards the garden.

"Now, now. Let's get you cleaned up. And to clarify what I said a while ago, yes. I do want to be your girlfriend." Haruka's eyes welled up and she couldn't suppress the need to embrace the younger girl.

"Let's forget about that delinquent. Shizuru can handle her! I'm taking you out tonight!"

_**-break-**_

Shizuru was taking her afternoon stroll around the academy. It was one of the privileges of being the President and because she left Haruka to do all the work, she was able to take some time to herself; to reflect about life, the mysteries of the universe and how pretty the flowers were. Only a few people were around the school. She'd give them a smile and a greeting since her position encouraged her to be charming and graceful to the student body.

As the kaichou walked about with her head in the clouds, a body bumped into her. The impact was so great that she fell to the ground. It was painful but well, it was worth it since a girl with midnight blue hair was on top of her. Her eyes went wide. This was something new because Shizuru Fujino did not let the element of surprise take her as often as it should.

"_Ara, green is my new favorite color now.._" she thought. The girl had sharp features. Her skin was pale but her eyes. Oh, her eyes were the most startling shade of emerald that Shizuru had seen. The contrast of colors in the young girl's persona was beautiful and her lithe yet built body made her more enticing. It was safe to say that Shizuru was attracted. Her sexuality wasn't a big issue as far as her friends were concerned. They knew she was a lesbian and the fans that crowded her everyday didn't seem to care as long as she upheld her perfect image for their enjoyment.

The girl's face took into a look of disbelief and when she realized how close their bodies were; and she gave out the reddest and most adorable blush she had ever seen. Shizuru remembered the (_novice now hopefully who had become a swordsman)_ from the last time she played. As much as she liked being in compromising positions with girls younger than her, she could not risk losing face to the students around her so she gently nudged the figure off who was doing an impressive fish-out-of-water impression. Natsuki lifted herself off the kaichou and dusted off her skirt. She fixed her hoodie and checked if Haruka was chasing her. Shizuru sat up and looked at the girl again; it felt like she knew this girl but she couldn't put her finger on it. Natsuki remembered her manners and offered her hand to Shizuru to pull her up. The feel of the girl's cold fingers gripping her hand was contrasting to the warmth that the sandy-haired girl had.

"_Something about the kaichou is similar to Viola.. Heh! It must be nothing. What are the odds that those stuck-up council kids even know about the glory of video games?!"_

Shizuru thanked her for her courtesy and tried asking for her name but before she could get the words out, the emerald-eyed girl had mumbled a quick apology and rushed off to the gardens where she parked her motorbike. As she ran off, crimson eyes followed her disappear into the horizon.

"_I should move my afternoon walks to the gardens. It might be more interesting." _

_**A/N: I am finally able to update one of my stories! Hurray! I hope you enjoy this chapter. A lot of stalling happened thanks to my thesis and school works. Aside from that, I blame POKEMON. Thank you for the support!**_


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